Mayor Bloomberg faced intense opposition to his plan to proceed with the NYC Marathon.Associated Press

The New York Marathon will not go on as scheduled Sunday. The decision was made in the face of overwhelming opposition to Mayor Bloomberg's plan to proceed with the event, despite the ongoing effort to recover from Hurricane Sandy.

It wasn't clear if the marathon was cancelled outright or subject to rescheduling in a few weeks.

"You have to keep going and doing things. ... You can grieve and you can cry and you can laugh and that's what human beings are good at," Bloomberg said when he updated the media Friday and Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts. But he's been met with overwhelming fierce opposition to the plans to stage the race as the city plans funerals for 40+ Hurricane Sandy victims, including 20 on Staten Island.

As that opposition intensified, and pressure was placed on race sponsors, the mayor decided to back down. "While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division," he said in making the announcement to not hold the race Sunday. "The marathon has always brought our city together and inspired us with stories of courage and determination. We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event -- even one as meaningful as this -- to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track. The New York Road Runners will have additional information in the days ahead for participants."